This paper attempts to identify the dimensions of nation brand personality (NBP). The concept of brand personality is well established in the branding literature, yet to date it has been little applied to the context of nation brands rather than to the product or corporate brands. Nine countries were selected for the study. The following five core dimensions of NBP were found: leadership, excitement, sophistication, tradition and peacefulness. These five dimensions were identified in perceived traits of nation brands such as country of origin for products and services, country for tourism, country for investment, country for residence. Variables exerting an influence on the formation process of NBP were tested. Theoretical and practical implications regarding the utility of NBP are discussed.
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The purpose of this study is to provide a better insight into the impact of rebranding on stakeholders; the case for this study is the rebranding of the Hotel Management School (HMS). This research has explored how the stakeholders have experienced rebranding and how the rebranding has affected the brand identity, image and loyalty. A qualitative research method was used and data was gathered conducting semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with the students, staff and industry partners. The data illustrates that due to effective internal communication the employees were not affected by the rebranding. Nevertheless, the brand identity, image and loyalty did not have the same effect on the students and industry partners. Thus, it is recommended that HMS pay more attention to improving the communication, rebuilding and expansion of the brand identity.
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Recent developments in digital technology and consumer culture have created new opportunities for retail and brand event concepts which create value by offering more than solely marketing or transactions, but rather a place where passion is shared. This chapter will define the concept of ‘fashion space’ and consumer experience, and delves into strategies for creating experiences that both align with a brand’s ethos and identity and build brand communities. It will provide insight on creating strong shared brand experiences that integrate physical and digital spaces, AR and VR. These insights can be used for consumer spaces but also for media and buyer events, runway shows, test labs and showrooms. Since its launch in 2007, international fashion brand COS has focused on creating fashion spaces that build and reinforce a COS fashion community. COS retail stores with their extraordinary architecture, both traditional and contemporary, contribute stories and facilitate intense brand experiences. Moreover, COS’ dedication to share the artistic inspirations of its people led to collaborating on interactive and multi-sensory installations which allow consumers to affectively connect to the brand’s personality and values. Thus, the brand was able to establish itself firmly in the lifestyle of its customers, facilitating and developing their aesthetics and values. This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge/CRC Press in "Communicating Fashion Brands. Theoretical and Practical Perspectives" on 03-03-2020, available online: https://www.routledge.com/Communicating-Fashion-Brands-Theoretical-and-Practical-Perspectives/Huggard-Cope/p/book/9781138613560. LinkedIn: https://nl.linkedin.com/in/overdiek12345
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Organizing entrepreneurial collaboration in small, self-directed teams is gaining popularity. The underlying co-creation processes of developing a shared team vision were analyzed with a core focus on three underlying processes that originate from the shared mental models framework. These processes are: 1) the emergence of individual visions and vision integration, 2) conflict solving, and 3) redesigning the emerging knowledge structure. Key in the analysis is the impact of these three processes on two outcome variables: 1)the perceived strength of the co-creation process, 2) the final team vision. The influence of business expertise and the relationship between personality traits and intellectual synergy was also studied. The impact of the three quality shared mental model (SMM) variables proves to be significant and strong, but indirect. To be effective, individual visions need to be debated during a second conflict phase. Subsequently, redesigning the shared knowledge structure resulting from the conflict solving phase is a key process in a third elaboration phase. This sequence positively influences the experienced strength of the co-creation process, the latter directly enhancing the quality of the final team vision. The indirect effect reveals that in order to be effective, the three SMM processes need to be combined, and that the influence follows a specific path. Furthermore, higher averages as well as a diversity of business expertise enhance the quality of the final team vision. Significant relationships between personality and an intellectual synergy were found. The results offer applicable insights for team learning and group dynamics in developing an entrepreneurial team vision. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainer-hensel-phd-8ba44a43/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-visser-4591034/
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This publication by Kathryn Best accompanied the Lector’s inauguration as head of the research group Cross-media, Brand, Reputation & Design Management (CBRD) in January 2011. The book outlines current debates around the Creative Industries, business and design education and the place of ’well being’ in society, the environment and the economy, before focusing in on the place for design thinking in creative and innovation processes, and how this is driving new applied research agendas and initiatives in education and industry.
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The media are an integral part of how advanced societies are controlled. After almost a century of ‘broadcasting’, a new media logic can be seen to have emerged. It is not centralized, nor does it appear to depend on manipulative power (such as the priming and framing of news and thereby the agenda of political discussion; or ‘advertising’ as a way to influence consumers to buy particular products). It is the logic of ‘networking’ that is not about producers and consumers but about redaction and multipliers.1 Media content in this logic may in an archeological sense be seen as having an author or a point of origin – but the routes it takes and the way in which it spreads offers new means of community building, identity construction and meaning making which are of much greater interest. In this paper we take a double perspective (business and critical) to assess how the old and the new media logics are both relevant today and what terms are best used to work with and in the media, and to reflect on them. While producers and consumers are the senders and receivers of broadcasting in the age of the nation-state, networking logic has little use for these terms: it also moves away from marketing terms such as eyeballs and stickiness to terms such as spreadability and multiplication and redaction. The perspective of what used to be known as ‘qualitative audience research’ can prove useful to innovative and sustainable marketing and to critical reflection on media culture. Here its restyled form will be called participant design. It suggests that strong marketing respects and co-opts potential customers in much the same way that relevant media criticism is, not given from an external and possibly paternalist but from an inside perspective that highly values self-reflexivity.2
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With employer branding (EB), businesses aim to align their organizational norms with the norms of their current and prospective employees, and they explicitly communicate about the firm’s norms. Communication, however, carries different meanings depending on the context in which one operates. Also, the organizational norms may vary depending on the context, i.e., industry, different countries, and geographical context in which a firm operates. As such, the process of EB may be context-dependent, too. This study explores if and how EB is applied differently in different country and industry contexts. The analysis draws on a quantitative content analysis of 226 job vacancies targeted at highly educated graduates and professionals in IT, energy, and healthcare from the North of the Netherlands and comparable regions from Germany and Bulgaria. Our findings show that EB, as manifested in core values and distinctive characteristics, is not widely adopted in the vacancies we included in our analysis. When adopted, different values are emphasized depending on the context. General information and job-specific information are most frequent among all industries and countries. EB is a multidimensional concept with different dimensions used according to the context. The study’s main implication is that companies need to be mindful of the context in which an EB strategy is used. A one-size-fits-all approach in EB is likely not the most effective. This is particularly relevant for multinationals that adopt a worldwide organizational brand.
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RFID technology is a promising technology currently finding its way into the field of customer interaction strategy, supply chain accuracy and inventory management. Primarily, RFID tags are seen as substitutes of traditional barcodes, yet they can add a lot of value and functionality. Where barcodes require a scanning device to be placed directly in front of the tag to be read, RFID tag readers are able to scan all tags that are in the proximity of the scanner . The next difference is that whereas barcodes usually are the same for all articles of the of the same type (i.e. a jar of peanut butter of brand x), RFID tags will be unique for each individual product occurrence. This opens up the possibility of tracking the entire history of a specific occurrence of a product. Moreover, due to the nature of the scanning technology, it suddenly becomes achievable for manufacturers to track individual products through all stages of production and base inventory management and front office planning on real-time data at item level from production facilities.
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We examine the ways in which a hidden crisis can be exposed from a communication point of view. In which way can organisations create general awareness of a crisis and try to understand the dynamic nature of interactions? With the help of discourse analysis, we have examined the interactional achievements of two crisis entrepreneurs in the domain of education in the Netherlands: a rector of a secondary school and the founders of BON, a social movement aimed at improving the quality of education. In this way, we will illustrate the discursive practices that play an active role when certain players signal a crisis.
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the role of higher education in fostering young professionals’ global competence
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